The present disclosure relates generally to gaming and lottery systems, and more particularly to facilitating lottery wagering communications in remote wagering environments.
Many types of lottery wagering environments exist. For example, traditional lottery tickets offered for drawing games and instant games can be purchased in a traditional retail environment, where the player enters a retail establishment that sells the lottery tickets, purchases the ticket(s) and plays the ticket(s) according to game rules. In some jurisdictions, Internet or online wager communications are permitted, which allow the player to buy his or her ticket(s) in electronic form over a network such as the Internet, for example. In other jurisdictions, a player may search for and store desired purchases remotely, such as over the Internet, for example, but must then pay for and/or otherwise conduct the lottery wager transaction within the confines and/or defined territory of an authorized lottery retailer.
In this last example, lottery wager communications can transpire in several ways. For example, a player may use his or her mobile communications device to select and store a desired lottery purchase over the Internet, enter into an authorized facility, call up the desired purchase and conduct the purchase transaction in person at a point-of-sale (POS) retail device. Such transaction can be conducted by the retail clerk or self-service POS device scanning a code representing the desired transaction, at which time payment can be processed and the desired product (e.g., ticket) can be presented to the player. In some embodiments, the player receives a physical ticket and in other embodiments, the player's desired product is made available electronically, wherein the wager is associated with a player account or other player identifier such that any winnings can be appropriately credited to the player.
In other examples, the player need not appear in person at the retailer terminal, but must be within range of a private network, such as a Bluetooth network centralized around one or more retailer terminals within an authorized facility. Bluetooth is a wireless communication protocol for exchanging data between devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, keyboards, computer mice, printers, PC networks, media players, video game consoles and other devices. The Bluetooth network can operate via a Bluetooth-enabling transceiver (e.g., Bluetooth adaptor or dongle) coupled to the retailer terminal that permits the retailer terminal to receive communications remotely from wireless devices paired to the transceiver. Exemplary environments include gas stations, convenience stores and other lottery retail establishments. However, these environments have limitations. For example, unlike Wifi service, Bluetooth only permits pairing of the transceiver with a single mobile device at a time. Thus, when more than one player in or around an authorized lottery facility wishes to conduct a transaction, players must wait for an existing connection between another mobile device and the transceiver to be disconnected before a second or further mobile device may connect in order to process the transaction. In addition to the problems associated with crowded facilities, some devices process transactions more quickly whereas others do not. Even further, the distance between a mobile device and the transceiver can affect the speed and effectiveness of processing the desired transaction. All of these circumstances can result in lengthy wait times and frustrated customers, who may decide not to proceed with their desired transaction.